Wine Tour Bus Driver Arrested For DUI

The Healdsburg Patch reports on a Wine Tour Bus driver being arrested for suspicion of DUI. Passengers aboard the bus reported that they returned to the bus from a local winery to find their driver passed out behind the wheel. Their driver, 60-year-old Napa resident Eugene Cremen, was difficult to wake up.

When bus passengers managed to awaken him, he began driving once more. According to the passengers, Cremen had a difficult time staying in his lane and almost hit a tractor-trailer.

Passengers were able to convince Cremen to pull over and contacted police to report that their driver was drunk.

When authorities arrived on scene, they discovered that Cremen’s blood-alcohol content was nearly three times the lowered .04% threshold for commercial drivers. This is also much higher than the .08% threshold for normal drivers.

Cremen has a previous DUI charge within the past 10 years, which means he may be facing enhancement charges.

The passengers utilized a ride-hailing service to be taken away from the highway.

California has stricter laws regarding intoxication for those that have a commercial driver’s license or CDL. While the normal blood-alcohol threshold for alcohol levels is .08%, for those with a CDL, it is .04%. The .04% is in effect even if the holder of the CDL is not driving their commercial vehicle.

More recently, California passed legislation that included those who drive for ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft under the same laws as those who possess a CDL. In short, possessing a CDL means that drivers are expected to hold higher standards. Unfortunately, not everyone meets these standards, and can put passenger lives in danger.